Decker's Patterns of Exposition

Why Rent from Knetbooks?

Because Knetbooks knows college students. Our rental program is designed to save you time and money. Whether you need a textbook for a semester, quarter or even a summer session, we have an option for you. Simply select a rental period, enter your information and your book will be on its way!

Decker's Patterns of Exposition is a modern classic an accessible collection of quality essays which aptly illustrate the rhetorical modes and reflect the diversity of our culture, and the changes and challenges of our times. Practical, concise writing apparatus includes chapter openers that introduce each rhetorical mode. An emphasis on critical reading and writing is demonstrated through the "Ways of Writing" section and an all new section, "Becoming a Critical Reader." Within chapters, some essays have been grouped into thematic clusters on provocative topics to show how writers use multiple patterns to address the same theme.

In and of Ourselves We Trust This columnist decides that stopping for red lights is part of a contract Americans have with each other--and we trust each other to honor the contract.

71

(4)

William F. Buckley, Jr.

Why Don't We Complain The dean of conservative writers believes that we've become so numb to mistakes and injustices that we no longer have the spunk to complain about anything and that this apathy could have grave consequences.

75

(8)

Barbara Ehrenreich

What I've Learned from Men Acting like a man means speaking up for your rights, says this feminist, and it is a way of behaving that women can learn from men. As an example, she tells of a time when she acted in a manner that was too ladylike.

83

(7)

Issues and Ideas: Discovering and Constructing Identities

90

(13)

Antonya Nelson

Fear of Flying When the tornado hit, it crushed the family station wagon and terrified the occupants. For some of the family members, the event is still important.

90

(4)

Mary Karr

Dysfunctional Nation Don't think everyone else's family life is calmer than the chaos in your home, warns this writer. On a book tour she met people who overcame family backgrounds even more dysfunctional than her own.

94

(4)

Alan Buczynski

Iron Bonding Do men share feelings? Of course, says this ironworker, but they do it through stories and other indirect tactics

What, Me? Showing Off? Though we may be reluctant to admit it, we all show off and we do it in many different ways

108

(8)

Judith Stone

Personal Beast Looking for a Pet? Why settle for a dog or cat when you can have a pot-bellies pig, a llama, or a ferret?

116

(10)

Issues and Ideas: Images of Ourselves and Others

126

(19)

Renee Tajima

Lotus Blossoms Don't Bleed: Images of Asian American Women The Asian American women in Hollywood movies do not bear much resemblance to real people. And the roles they play are sometimes absurd and insulting

126

(10)

Brenda Peterson

Life Is a Musical Feeling down? You might want to follow this writer's lead by creating tapes of music that help shut out "the noisy yak and call of the outside world".

136

(9)

5 Explaining by means of Comparison and Contrast Sample Paragraph: Robert Jastrow, The Enchanted Loom

145

(52)

Mark Twain

Two Ways of Seeing a River What happens when you start looking at a thing of beauty in terms of its use?

150

(4)

Bruce Catton

Grant and Lee: A Study in Contrasts A famous historian identifies these two great Civil War generals as the embodiments of the passing and rising orders

154

(6)

Phillip Lopate

A Nonsmoker with a Smoker Many things pass through the mind of the nonsmoking member of a couple: anger, regret, concern, and even some surprising fantasies

160

(7)

Issues and Ideas: Gender and Other Differences

167

(30)

Scott Russell Sanders

The Men We Carry in Our Minds Memories of men whose lives were hard and short makes it hard for this author to understand why women might envy men

167

(6)

Marianna De Marco Torgovnick

On Being White, Female, and Born in Bensonhurst The differences within the neighborhood serve to unite; differences with other neighborhoods and neighbors often serve to divide

173

(15)

Alice Walker

Am I Blue? This well-known author entertains the possibility that we are not as different from animals as we think, and she looks at the way a horse named Blue displayed feelings we are accustomed to thinking of as particularly "human"

188

(9)

6 Using Analogy as an Expository Device Sample Paragraph: James Trefil, The Dark Side of the Universe

197

(44)

Loren C. Eiseley

The Brown Wasps In a reflective mood, this distinguished anthropologist-philosopher-author makes an analogical comparison between homeless old men in a railroad station and brown wasps waiting to die, still clinging to the old aban-doned nest.

201

(9)

Patricia Raybon

Letting in Light Washing windows may seem an insignificant task for an educated person but this journalist argues that the work helps us understand ourselves and lets light into our spirits

210

(15)

Issues and Ideas: Discovering Patterns in Behavior and Relationships

225

(16)

Tom Wolfe

O Rotten Gotham--Sliding Down into the Behavioral Sink Our leading New Journalist says that New York City drives people crazy--and you can observe the same effects of overcrowding in a jammed cage of rats

216

(9)

Barbara Kingsolver

High Tide in Tucson When a hermit crab brought home to Tucson starts obeying the tidal patterns of a far-away ocean, the author decides that it is time to reflect how far away she has moved from her original home

Give Juggling a Hand! It's not as hard to become a juggler as you might think, and juggling is certainly a lot of fun

245

(5)

Ann Faraday

Unmasking Your Dream Images Many or us would like to know what our dreams mean. This author describes one way to interpret them and says that we are the people best equipped to understand our own dreams

250

(7)

Mike Rose

Writing Around Rules Speaking directly to students, this writer and teacher of writing talks about rules that can make writing difficult and then offers ways to work around them

257

(11)

Issues and Ideas: Advertising and Appearances--Shaping Realities

268

(25)

James B. Twitchell

We Build Excitement You already live in the world advertising created. Here's how it works

268

(10)

Jessica Mitford

To Dispel Fears of Live Burial A contemporary muckraker parts "the formaldehyde curtain" for a hair-raising look into an undertaker's parlor

278

(8)

Jean E. Kibourne

Beauty...And the Beast of Advertising Advertising images bombard us every day. How do we respond to them?

What's Your Best Time of Day? When is the best time to study for and exam? To relax withfriends? This intriguing essay talks about the when and the why of the cycles that govern our lives and behavior

298

(5)

Linda Hasselstrom

A Peaceful Women Explains Why She Carries a Pistol This writer and rancher explains that for a woman in a hostile world, carrying a gun may be a good way to even the odds and prevent violence

303

(7)

Cullen Murphy

Hello, Darkness Tired? No wonder. Everyone else is too. This writer explains why we are all getting less sleep

310

(7)

Issues and Ideas: Work, Success, and Failure

317

(28)

William Serverini Kowinski

Kids in the Mall: Growing Up Controlled What do the malls teach teenagers? All sorts of lessons, few of them very useful and some of them perhapa even harmful

317

(7)

Peter Hillary

Everest Is Mighty, We are Fragile If We try to prevent people from undertaking dangerous challenges like climbing mountains, we will be banishing something very important to all of us, says this mountaineer

324

(6)

Randall Rothenberg

What makes Sammy Walk? In a time when most everyone is worried about getting and keeping a job, why are some people trying to work less and itching to stop working altogether?

330

(15)

9 Using Definition to Help Explain Sample Paragraph: Linton Robinson, "Marathoning with Maps"

345

(48)

Roger Welsch

Gypsies What is there to admire in a group of people who have made thievery into a fine art? Plenty, or at least that is what this writer and anthropologist belives, and he offers some reasons

349

(8)

John Berendt

The Hoax A hoax is a lot more than a simple prank, says this well-known author. It has wit and style

357

(4)

Stephen L. Carter

The Insufficiency of Honesty What we need a lot more than honesty is integrity, says this writer and law professor

361

(9)

Issues and Ideas: Redefining Relationships and Identities

370

(23)

Michael Dorris

Father's Day Can someone other than a father be a father?

370

(5)

Kesaya Noda

Growing Up Asian in America Finding an identity as an Asian, an Asian-American, and an Aian-American woman was a difficult but essential task of self-definition for this author

375

(10)

Veronica Chambers

Mother's Day When your identity changes, does your mother's change too? What about your relationship with her?

385

(8)

10 Explaining with the Help of Description Sample Paragraph: Donald Hall, Seasons at Eagle Pond

393

(42)

Sharon Curtin

Aging in the Land of the Young All of us, says a former nurse, are so afraid of aging that we treat old people as personal insults and threats to our society

398

(5)

George Simpson

The War Room at Bellevue The author takes us through one unforgetable evening in the emergency room of a huge city hospital. But, says the head nurse, the succession of crises was "about normal...no big deals."

403

(9)

Issues and Ideas: Place and Person

412

(23)

Joyce Maynard

The Yellow Door House Visits to the house where she grew up give this writer a chance to reflect on her parents' lives, her own life, and the lives of her children

412

(6)

Luis J. Rodriguez

The Ice Cream Truck What does life in an impoverished barnio look like from the inside? This writer, a former gang member, provides a glimpse

418

(6)

E.B. White

Once More to the Lake A visit with his son to the lake where he spent summer vacations as a boy gives this famous essayist a kind of double vision that mingles memories of the past with scenes from the present

38 Who Saw Murder Didn't Call the Police Years after the fact, the murder of Kitty Genovese is still a harrowing tale of urban apathy

439

(6)

Chang-rae Lee

Uncle Chul Gets Rich No matter how hard he tried or how successful he became, Uncle chul could never seem to earn his sister-in-law's approval

445

(8)

Issues and Ideas: Telling Stories about Ourselves and our Values

453

(28)

George Orwell

A Hanging The well-known essayist and author of 1984 writes of an experience in Burma and makes a subtle but biting commentary on both colonialism and capital punishment

453

(7)

Rita Williams

The Quality of Mercy Crime is not a black and white issue for the African-American writer who share her first-hand experience as a victim facing young and potentially violent criminals

460

(6)

Garrett Hongo

Kubota Kubota told him to remember, and the writer remembers not only Kubota but also his story, along with that of other Japanese Americans during World War II.

466

(15)

12 Reasoning by Use of Induction and Deduction Sample Paragraphs: Daniel Cohen, "Cooking Off for Fame and Fortune" Lois G. Forer, A Chilling Effect

481

(30)

Barbara Ehrenreich

Star Dreck What is really important for this country is the serious study of stars--the kind that appear on the covers of magazines, on television, and on movie screens

487

(5)

Patricia Kean

Blowing Up the Tracks Our school systems have long taken for granted that students learn best when they are segregated by ability. yet as this writer points out, those teachers and schools that have been willing to break the mosk find that mixed classr rooms are often the most successful

492

(10)

Issues and Ideas: Digital Realities

502

(9)

Maia Szalavitz

A Virtual Life When you stay at home working on the computer all day long, life on the screen can become real life.

502

(4)

Nicholas Negroponte

Place Without Space In the World of computers we can be in one place while our bodies are somewhere else

506

(5)

13 Using Patterns for Argument Sample Paragraph: "Grime and Punishment"

511

(64)

Issues and Ideas: Current and Classic Controversies

520

(55)

Christopher B. Daly

How the Lawyers Stole Winter Argument Through Comparison and Contrast When we try to make everything safe and prevent accidents, we also take away responsibility for our own safety and the opportunity to develop good judgement

520

(5)

Richard Lunn

Why Johnny Can't Read but Yoshio Can Argument through comparison and contrast How good are our schools compared to those of Japan? Not very good, says this writer, and he proposes ways to improve them, including Solutions that may raise the hackles of some readers.

525

(8)

Alanm Hirsch

Don't Blame the Jury Argument Through Example We complain about the verdicts, but often it is the judges and the lawyers, not the Juries, that are to blame.

533

(9)

Barbara Lawrence

Four-Letter Words Can Hurt You Argument Through Definition Dirty words have a history of violent meanings. This history, not narrow-minded sexual hang-ups, is what make the words harmful and Offensive

542

(5)

John Davidson

Menace to Society Argument Through Cause and Effect Can children's cartoons be a major cause of agressive and violent behavior? That's what this writer believes, and he offers evidence to support his case

547

(8)

Martin Luther King, Jr.

Letter from Birmingham Jail Complex Argument The martyred civil rights leader explains in this now-classic letter just why he is in Birmingham, and justifies the activities that led to his jailing

555

(20)

14 Further Readings

575

(24)

Margaret Atwood

Pornography We are naive if we think that all Pornography appeals to sexual fantasies, points out this well-known novelist. Some pornography contains scenes of cruelty that even people concerned about freedom of expression are likely to find repulsive and dangerous

576

(7)

Bill McKibben

Late Afternoon Time on television and time on a mountainside in the late afternoon are dissimilar in so many ways that the two might as well be in different dimensions

583

(7)

Leslie Marmon Silko

Yellow Woman and a Beauty of the Spirit Beauty is a matter of the individual's spirit, not physical apperrance, says the author, who points our that spiritual beauty is central to the Laguna Pueblo way to life